Romans 11: Anti-Semitism is Unwelcome Among Christians

Class Outline:

---

The branches are nothing without the roots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re in the resident congregation turn off your electronic devices and put them away. Let this be a place where you aren’t distracted by the world.

 

Welcome To

BARAH MINISTRIES

 

Rory Clark

Pastor-Teacher

 

Good Morning!

 

Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with a worldwide impact.  My name is Pastor Rory Clark.  Thanks for listening to this Bible lesson!Happy New Year!

 

OPENING AGENDA

 

We’re always happy to begin each lesson by answering a few important questions…

 

Who is the God we worship at Barah Ministries?

What is our source of truthat Barah Ministries?

Who is our enemyat Barah Ministries?

 

Who is the God We Worshipat Barah Ministries?

 

We worship a Triune Godhead…also known as the Holy Trinity.  There is One God who reveals Himself to mankind as three beings who are separate…distinct…

co-equal…co-infinite…co-eternal Persons…God the Father…God the Son…and God the Holy Spirit.

 

Why would the members of the Godhead choose to reveal Themselves in this way?  Deuteronomy, Chapter 19, Verse 15 gives us insight…

 

DEUTERONOMY 19:15

“A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed…on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.”

 

Human history is a court case.  It’s the Lord Jesus Christ versus Hisadversary,  Satan.  God’s enemy, Satan has accused Him of being unfair and unloving.

The omnipresent Ones…who can be everywhere at the same time…God the Father…God the Son…and God the Holy Spirit…are the three witnesses against Satan in the court case.

 

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit witnessed Satan’s betrayal when he convinced all the angels to turn against God.  If God only expressed Himself as One, it would be His word against Satan’s, and not enough to carry the day in court.  Three witnesses provide effective testimony in court.

 

Satan contends, “How can a loving God cast one of His creatures into the Lake of Fire?  That’s unfair!”

 

God is NEVER unloving.  He loves His creatures, even Satan, unconditionally.  First John, Chapter 4, Verse 8…

 

FIRST JOHN 4:8

The one who does not love unconditionally does not know God…for God IS unconditional love (in His very Person).

 

God could be considered unfair if He didn’t answer Satan’s question.How can a loving God cast one of His creatures into the Lake of Fire? God can do it by honoringeach creature’s will.

 

Matthew, Chapter 23, Verse 37 is the Biblical testimony that creatures have free will…

 

MATTHEW 23:37

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I (the Lord Jesus Christ) wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”

 

Creatures use their will to express faith in something or someone.  Those who go to the Lake of Fire invest faith in themselves instead of in God by rejecting the salvation offer of the Lord Jesus Christ.  God allows unbelieving creatures to choose the Lake of Fire by honoring their will.  It is not His will that they would sabotage themselves in this way.

 

GOD THE FATHER is the author of the Triune Godhead’s plan for all creatures.

 

GOD THE SON (the Lord) volunteered to execute God the Father’s plan…taking on human form as Jesus…the Christ (the Jewish and Gentile Messiah).  Jesus Christ is God.

 

GOD THE HOLY SPIRITis our Mentor and Teacher, a guide who is the rudder of a Christian’s life.  He is fully God, equal in every way to God the Father and God the Son.He is a Person.  He is not a “ghost” as some like to call Him.

 

In God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit…believers in Christ have a power team specializing in the impossible…a team believers can call on for help anytime.

 

What is Our Source of Truthat Barah Ministries?

 

The Bible is the Word of God, and as such it is our source of absolute truth.  Hebrews, Chapter 4, Verse 12…

 

HEBREWS 4:12

…the word of God is alive and powerful…sharper than any two-edged sword… piercing…even to the dividing of the soul and the spirit…of the joints and the marrow…and is a critic of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

 

The Bible does not come from the source of man.  It is a supernatural work, breathed into its human writers by God.  The Bible provides the only source of absolute truth about eternal things.

 

As Christians, we develop a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with the Godhead, and we get to know them as Persons, through studying the Word of God.

 

At Barah Ministries, we teach the Bible from God’s perspective…not from man’s perspective…because we refuse to teach as doctrinal truth the precepts of men.

 

The Bible changes your mind!  Schedule time to study it daily.

 

Who is Our Enemyat Barah Ministries?

 

God and His believers have an enemy…Satan…whom God made ‘the ruler of this

world’ for a finite period.In First Peter, Chapter 5, Verses 8 and 9, the apostle Peter warns believers in Christ…

 

FIRST PETER 5:8

Be of sober spirit…be on the alert…your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

 

FIRST PETER 5:9a

Resist him…

 

Your enemy promotes ignorance.  Don’tignore his schemes.  Resist them.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Anti-Semitism is Unwelcome Among Christians

 

LESSON INTRODUCTION

 

As we conclude the middle section of Paul’s letter to the believers in Christ in first-century Rome…Romans Chapters 9 to 11…Paul concludes with a stern warning for Gentile believers.  In this lesson we’ll learn about the severe consequences of Anti-Semitism for the Gentile Christian Community.

 

OPENING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s hear some music!Romans, Chapters 9 to 11 pursue a simple question, “Has God forgotten about His chosen nation Israel and His chosen people the Jews because they rejected their Messiah?  It’s a blasphemous thought.  June Murphy tells us why in her songGOD IS FAITHFUL.

 

MUSIC

OPENING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

GOD IS FAITHFUL

June Murphy

 

OPENING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…

 

Father…thank you for another year…there were many people we admire who didn’t make it out of 2024…thank you for being present here in Barah Ministries for this and every message…and thank you for God the Holy Spirit, who makes the truth of Your Word understandable and who gives us spiritual eyes and ears so we can comprehend Biblical truth…

 

…make today’s lesson a source of blessing for us, and a call to action regarding our Jewish friends…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Anti-Semitism is Unwelcome Among Christians

 

LESSON PART ONE

 

The Jewish rejection of their Messiah is a temporary one.  Israel and The Jewish Race have a bright future according to the prophet Jeremiah in Chapter 31, Verses 31 to 34…

 

JEREMIAH 31:31

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah (the Jews)…”

 

JEREMIAH 31:32

“…not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt…My covenantwhich they broke although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

 

JEREMIAH 31:33

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days (of rejection),” declares the Lord. “I will put My law within them…and on their hearts I will write it…and I will be their God…and they shall be My people.”

 

 

JEREMIAH 31:34

“They will not teach againsaying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will ALL know Me…from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

 

The Jewish rejection of the Messiah forced the Lord’s first-century Jewish evangelists to offer a Jewish gospel message to non-Jewish people…the Gentiles.  That’s us!  Since then, the whole Gentile world is flocking to a relationship with the Messiah…the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

In the future, the racial Jews…who are unbelieving Jews…will lay aside their unbelief.  The Jews will have a repentant heart and will believe the gospel message, and this will usher in the second coming of Christ.

 

The Gentiles love the Messiah who was introduced to them by the Jews.  We love the Scriptures the Jews provided.  We memorize and sing the Psalms.  We adore the God of Israel.

 

Now that God has shown the same generosity to Gentiles that He showed to the Jews…salvation by faith in Christ alone…there is no need for Gentiles to become arrogant.  Yet many have.  Paul’s final passage in Romans, Chapter 11 is a warning to the Gentiles to avoid the arrogance of Anti-Semitism.

 

One of the forms of Gentile Anti-Semitism occurs when Church Age believers think they have become the replacement for the Jews.  That’s completely false.  There are many Gentiles who believe God loves the Gentiles more than He loves the Jews.  That’s completely false, too.

 

Is it impossible for the Jews to come back to Christ?  Let’s study the passage to gather insights.  Here’s Romans, Chapter 16, Verses 16 to 36…the NEW LIVING TRANSLATION.

 

ROMANS 11:16

And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy—just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be holy, too.

 

 

 

ROMANS 11:17

But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree (a natural olive tree)—some of the people of Israel (the unbelieving ones)—have been broken off. And you believing Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special natural olive tree.

 

ROMANS 11:18

But you Gentiles must not brag about being grafted in to replace the Jewish branches that were broken off. You are just branches, not the root (of the natural olive tree).

 

ROMANS 11:19

“Well,” you may say, “Those branches were broken off to make room for me.”

 

ROMANS 11:20

Yes, but remember—those branches were broken off because they didn’t believe in Christ, and you are there because you do believe in Christ (through faith). So don’t think highly of yourself, but fear what could happen to you.

 

ROMANS 11:21

For if God did not spare the original branches (who had no faith in Christ), He won’t spare you either (if you don’t have faith in Christ).

 

ROMANS 11:22

Notice how God is both kind and severe. He is severe toward those who disobeyed, but kind to you if you continue trusting His kindness. But if you stop trusting, you also will be cut off.

 

ROMANS 11:23

And if the people of Israel turn from their unbelief (maybe they will and maybe they won’t…they have a choice)…they will be grafted in again…for God has the power to graft them back into the tree.

 

ROMANS 11:24

You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by cutting from a wild olive tree and grafting you into His natural olive tree…He will be far more eager to graft the natural olive tree branches back into the tree where they belong.

 

ROMANS 11:25

I want you to understand this mystery, dear Gentile brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel overconfident about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ.

 

ROMANS 11:26

And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say, “The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and He will turn Israel away from ungodliness (unbelief).”

 

ROMANS 11:27

“And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.”

 

ROMANS 11:28

Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News (the gospel message)…and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people the Lord loves because He chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

 

ROMANS 11:29

For God’s gifts and His call can never be withdrawn.

 

God is faithful!

 

ROMANS 11:30

Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against Him, God was merciful to you instead.

 

ROMANS 11:31

Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy (in the future).

 

ROMANS 11:32

For God has imprisoned all creatures in disobedience so He could have mercy on everyone.

 

ROMANS 11:33

Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways!

 

ROMANS 11:34

For who can know the Lord’s thoughts?  Who knows enough to give Him advice?

 

ROMANS 11:35

And who has given the Lord so much that the Lord needs to pay it back?

 

ROMANS 11:36

For everything comes from the Lord…and exists by His power…and is intended for His glory. All glory to Him forever! Amen.

 

When we return from the break we’ll take the first offering of the New Year and we’ll study this final passage of Romans 11 verse-by-verse.

 

FIVE-MINUTE BREAK

NOBODY

Casting Crowns

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Anti-Semitism is Unwelcome Among Christians

 

OFFERING INTRODUCTION

 

We have an anonymous matching grant offer from a donor to help us get the financial year off to a great start.  They will match our contribution up to ,000.

 

Last year it was a ,000 match and we raised ,000 which was enough to keep us going through the year.

 

So far we’re raised nearly 00.  We have an extension until January 30 to raise the money.  Please help if you can.  You can contribute through the website, or the APP, or by check.  Your contribution is appreciated.

 

Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with one of his always inspiring offering messages.

 

THE OFFERING

Deacon Denny Goodall

 

 

OFFERING VERSE

 

PHILIPPIANS 2:5

Have the same attitude in yourselves which was in Christ Jesus…

 

OFFERING SONG

THERE IS NONE LIKE YOU

Instrumental Version

 

TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON

Anti-Semitism is Unwelcome Among Christians

 

LESSON PART TWO

 

Let’s close Romans, Chapter 11 with a verse-by-verse studyof the passage, beginning at Verse 16…

 

ROMANS 11:16

If the first piece of dough is holy, and it is…the lump is holy also…and if the root is holy, and it is…the branches are holy, too.

 

The apostle Paul uses two metaphors in this passage to make his point…one from Israeli custom and one from agriculture.

 

Using the first metaphor, it was Israeli custom to follow God’s instruction at the time of harvest, and to offer up as a sacrifice the “firstfruits” of a harvest to God, expecting that God would bless both the firstfruit of the harvest and the entire harvest as well.

 

So it was with the Jews.  When God accepts a part of a thing, He accepts the whole thing. God considered Abraham to be the firstfruit of The Jewish Race, and as a result of blessing Abraham, God blessed the entire Jewish race.  The Jews are His chosen people.

 

The second metaphor is from agriculture, and it’s worth sharing with you so you learn a bit about farming.  The passage contrasts a natural olive tree and a wild olive tree to make Paul’s point.  The main differences between a natural olive tree and a wild olive tree are their appearance, fruit size, bark, shape, and size.

 

APPEARANCE

Wild olive trees are shrubbier than natural olive trees, with thorns on their branches.  Natural olive trees do not have thorns. Wild olive trees also have more rounded leaves than natural olive trees.

 

FRUIT SIZE

Wild olive trees produce smaller fruits than natural olive trees. In addition, the fruits of the wild olive tree have a bitter flavor not considered edible, both because of its taste and its toxic properties.

 

BARK

Wild olive trees have rough and scaly bark, while natural olive trees have smooth bark.

 

SHAPE

Wild olive trees take on irregular shapes, while natural olive trees grow in a symmetrical pattern.

 

SIZE

Wild olive trees do not exceed three meters in height, while natural olive trees can grow up to 15 meters tall.

 

The natural olive tree represents Israel and the Jews.  The wild olive tree represents the Gentiles.  Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 17 and 18…

 

ROMANS 11:17

But if some of the branches of the natural olive tree (the Jews) were broken off…and they were…and you Gentiles, being branches of the wild olive tree were grafted in among the natural olive tree branches and became partakers with them of the rich root of the natural olive tree…

 

ROMANS 11:18

…do not be arrogant toward the natural olive tree branches…but if you are arrogant, and you are…remember that it is not you who supports the natural olive tree root, but the natural olive tree root supports you.

 

Hey Gentiles…a warning…Anti-Semitism is unwelcome among Christians.  Why?

 

In the metaphor, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are the roots of the natural olive tree and Israel is the trunk of the natural olive tree.  The roots and the trunk of the natural olive tree support the branches, a support that continues throughout all of human history.  The Jews who have rejected Jesus as their Messiah (the racial Jews) are the branches broken off the natural olive tree.

 

The Gentiles are the branches grafted into the natural olive tree from a wild olive tree.  We are nowpartakers of the support of the roots and the trunk of the natural olive tree.  We Gentiles share the life of the natural olive tree…we were grafted in WITH the remnant of Jewish believers in Christ…not in place of the Jews…in addition to the Jews.  That’s a critical point in Paul’s argument.  The Jews are still VERY important to God, and they always will be.

 

In the Church Age, the present age of divine history, the Jews and Gentiles are now ONE group because God made us one group…Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 14 to 16…

 

EPHESIANS 2:14

For the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is our peace…who made both groups (Jews and Gentiles) into one group…and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall…

 

EPHESIANS 2:15

…by abolishing in His flesh the enmity…which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances…so that in Himself He might make the two groups (Jews and Gentiles) into one new man…thus establishing peace…

 

EPHESIANS 2:16

…and might reconcile them both in one body to God the Father through the

Cross…by the Cross having put to death the enmity (between God and man…between Jews and Gentiles).

 

The natural olive tree and the wild olive tree metaphor plays well here.  The Jews are God's chosen race.  The Gentiles were wild.  We didn't have the eight blessings the Jews have that we studied in Romans, Chapter 9, Verses 4 and 5.

 

But once the Jews rejected their Messiah, the Jewish gospel message was taken to the Gentiles, and we responded.  As a result, the blessing of salvation is ours.  Gentiles are grafted into the Jewish blessing.  We are supported by the roots and the tree trunk of the natural olive tree.

Is that a reason for Gentiles to boast?  Hardly!  Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 19 to 21…

 

ROMANS 11:19

You Gentiles will say then, “Branches were broken off the natural olive tree so that

I might be grafted in.”

 

The branches broken off are the unbelieving Jews.

 

ROMANS 11:20

Quite right…they were broken off for their unbelief…but you stand (grafted in) by your faith (in Christ). Do not be conceited (as a result)…but keep on fearing…

 

ROMANS 11:21

…for if God did not spare the natural branches…and He didn’t…He will not spare you, either (in unbelief).

 

In other words, Gentiles must not act likethe racial Jews did, assuming they are saved because of something worthy in them...like being Jewish.

 

 

Gentiles receive supernatural blessings from God through the Jews.  Gentiles are saved just as Jews were saved…by faith in Christ…by emulating Abraham’s faith.  Genesis, Chapter 15, Verse 6…

 

GENESIS 15:6

Then Abraham believed in the Lord…and the Lord credited Abraham’s faith as righteousness.

 

Here’s the lesson…

 

ROMANS 11:22

Behold then the kindness and severity of God…to those who fell (because of rejecting a relationship with Christ), God’s severity…but to you Gentiles, God’s kindness, if (3) you (as a group) continue in His kindness (maybe you will and maybe you won’t…you have a choice)…otherwise, you also will be cut off.

 

Those who reject a relationship with Christ in any age are cut off, whether Jew or Gentile.  This is not a threat to those who are saved.  The Bible teaches that once you are saved you remain saved forever.  God is faithful.

 

Gentiles in The Church Age are now gravitating to unbelief!  They are rejecting the gospel message in record numbers.  Those Gentiles rejecting the gospel will be cut off as well.

 

Because God is faithful, Israel and the Jews have a very certain and amazing future…Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 23 and 24…

 

ROMANS 11:23

And the Jews also, if (3) they do not continue in their unbelief (maybe they will

and maybe they won’t…they have a choice)…will be grafted in, for God is able (through divine omnipotence) to graft them in again.

 

ROMANS 11:24

For if you Gentiles were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree…and you were…and if you were grafted, contrary to nature, into a natural olive tree…and you were…how much more will the Jews who are the natural branches be grafted into their own natural olive tree?

 

If God can graft in a wild olive branch into a natural olive tree, He can graft in the natural branches again when they return to Christ.  Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 25 and 26…

 

ROMANS 11:25

For I (Paul) do not want you, Gentile brethren, to be uninformed (ignorant) of this mystery (a truth previously revealed and publicly proclaimed)—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation (arrogant)—that a PARTIAL hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in…

 

ROMANS 11:26

…and so all Israel will be saved…just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion…He will remove ungodliness (unbelief and blindness) from Jacob (which is Israel).”

 

This does not mean Jews are saved because they are Jewish…if this were true, God would be quite unfair.  There is only one way, for all time, for anyone to be saved…faith in Christ alone.  This means partial is not permanent.  The Jews will recognize Jesus as their Messiah at His second coming.  For those believing in Him, and many will, they will be saved.  Zechariah, Chapter 12, Verse 10…

 

ZECHARIAH 12:10

“I (the Lord) will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced…and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.”

 

The morning is a realization that they had rejected their Messiah all along.Zechariah, Chapter 13, Verse 1…

 

ZECHARIAH 13:1

“In that day a fountain will be opened by God for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.”

 

To cleanse them…Zechariah, Chapter 14, Verses 1 to 5…

 

ZECHARIAH 14:1

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.

 

ZECHARIAH 14:2

For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people (the remnant) will not be cut off from the city.

 

ZECHARIAH 14:3

Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.

 

ZECHARIAH 14:4

In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east…and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.

 

 

ZECHARIAH 14:5

You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel…yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!

 

A glorious day is coming when the Lord rescues His nation Israel and His people the Jews.  It always looks like Satan and his forces are winning but they never do.

 

Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 27 to 29…

 

ROMANS 11:27

“This is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.”

 

ROMANS 11:28

From the standpoint of the gospel, the Jews are enemies for your sake…but from the standpoint of God’s choice (election) they are beloved for the sake of the fathers (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob)…

 

ROMANS 11:29

…for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

 

God is faithful.  Israel and the Jews have a certain future.  Why?  Numbers,Chapter 23, Verse 19…

 

NUMBERS 23:19

“God is not a man, that He should lie…nor a son of man, that He should repent (change His mind)…has God said…and will He not do it?  Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

 

Of course!  God will do it!  He always makes good on His promises.  The Jews are not a thing of the past…they are a very present concern for the Lord…and they must be a present concern for Gentile believers.The Jewish rejection of the Messiah did not change one thing about God.

 

 

Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 30 to 32…

 

ROMANS 11:30

For just as you Gentiles once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of the Jews’ disobedience…

 

You Gentiles were once far off…now brought near by the blood of Christ.

 

ROMANS 11:31

…so the Jews also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to

you Gentiles they also may now be shown mercy.

 

ROMANS 11:32

For God has shut up all mankind in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all mankind (every one of us).

 

God is fair.  For all unbelievers…God’s mercy.  Israel the nation rejected the Messiah in unbelief.  A number of Jewish people rejected their Messiah in unbelief.  The remnant didn’t…they believed in Christ…like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…and they are saved.

 

Paul closes this passage with a doxology…words of praise concerning the Lord…Romans, Chapter 11, Verses 33 to 36…

 

ROMANS 11:33

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

 

ROMANS 11:34

For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?

 

ROMANS 11:35

Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?

 

ROMANS 11:36

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

 

Amen means “this I believe.”

 

In the Romans section about Israel and the Jews, Romans Chapters 9 to 11, Paul went from sorrow and grief…to hope…to absolute confidence…to ecstatic rejoicing concerning Israel and the Jews.  Gentiles must as well.

 

Has God forgotten His nation Israel and His People the Jews?  May it never be!

 

God will keep His promises to the patriarchs…Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  But the Israeli and the Jewish rejection of their Messiah opened the door for us Gentiles to receive the gospel message, and by accepting it, we have God’s “so great” salvation.  We are grateful. We are NEVER Anti-Semitic.  We NEVER think we are a replacement for the Jews.  We are nourished and supported by the Jews.

 

The Jewish Messiah is the Gentile Messiah.  The two groups, Jews and Gentiles, are now one group.  Yet as Gentile believers, we must always seek out the opportunity to remind our Jewish friends that Jesus is their Messiah.

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

The next ten minutes could be the ten most important minutes of your life.  You’ll be introduced to the good news concerning how you can spend all eternity in heaven when you close your eyes in this life.  We want you to know that…

 

GOD WANTS YOU!

He Wants You Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life

 

…and what He wants for you is that you make the most important decision of your life.

 

If you want to travel to a country in which you are not a citizen, you require a passport.  By using this official documentissued by the government of your country, certifyingyour identity and your citizenship, you are entitled to travel under its protection to countries where you are not a citizen.

 

All of us are born citizens of the world.

 

Unfortunately, this citizenship was given to us by the federal head of the human race, Adam, as a result of his sin.  Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 12…

 

ROMANS 5:12

…through one man…Adam…sin entered into the world…and spiritual death entered the world through his sin…so spiritual death spread to all men…because all men were considered by God to have sinned when Adam sinned.

 

Just so you don’t blame Adam for your plight, you commit personal sins as well according to Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23…

 

ROMANS 3:23

…all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

 

If you die a citizen of the world your eternal future will not be pleasant. Lucky for you, the God who created you does not want you to be a citizen of the world.  If you are when you close your eyes in this life, your destiny is an eternity in the Lake of Fire.  Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9 makes God’s will for you clear…

 

SECOND PETER 3:9

The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of...instead, He is patient toward unbelievers…NOT WISHING FOR ANY TO PERISH IN THE LAKE OF FIRE…but wishing for all unbelievers to come to repentance (a voluntary change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ).

 

Through His work on the Cross, the Lord Jesus Christ made it possible for you to renounce your citizenship in the world, instead becoming a citizen of heaven.  It's the equivalent of becoming a naturalized citizen of a new country, much like people who are not born in America can become naturalized citizens of the United States.

 

God’s plan for all His creatures is to save you from an eternity in the Lake of Fire by offering you a new possibility…salvation…citizenship in heaven when you close your eyes in this life.  You can be saved!  Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…

 

ACTS 16:31

“Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved by God…you and everyone in your household who also believes.”

 

Why?

 

Because expressing your faith in Jesus Christ’s Person and His work at the Cross

on your behalf changes your citizenship.  John, Chapter 14, Verse 6…

 

JOHN 14:6

Jesus said to the doubting apostleThomas, “I am the way (to salvation) … and I am the truth (through the gospel message in the Word of God) … and I am the resurrection life (eternal life) …and no one comes to God the Father in heaven but through believing in Me.”

 

You can’t do a thing to change your citizenship from the world to heaven on your own.  God has to do it for you.  The apostle Paul describes this God, the Lord Jesus Christ, in First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verses 3 and 4…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:3

For I (the apostle Paul) delivered to you as of primary importance the gospel message I also received from God…that it was Jesus Christ who died for your sins according to the Old Testament Scriptures…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:4

…and that He was buried…and that He was raised from the dead on the third day…according to the Old Testament Scriptures…

 

If you don’t have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ…right now…right where you sit…right this moment…you have a choice.  You can remain a spiritually dead citizen of the world, or you can choose to be a spiritually alive citizen of heaven.  First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22…

 

FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22

For all those in union with Adam (the citizens of the world) are spiritually dead…for all those in union with Christ are made spiritually alive by God.

 

What’s your choice?  John, Chapter 3, Verse 36, God offers the ONLY two choices…

 

JOHN 3:36

“He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment (they are made citizens of heaven by God) …but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him (they remain citizens of the world for all eternity).”

 

Believers in Christ have made their choice according to Philippians, Chapter 3, Verse 20…

 

PHILIPPIANS 3:20

(As believers in Christ)…our citizenship  is in heaven…from which heaven also we eagerly wait for a Savior…the Lord Jesus Christ…

 

God’s enemy, Satan, is the ruler of this world.  He welcomes you to remain a citizen of the world because he’d be pleased to have you live with him in the Lake of Fire for all eternity.  If you choose to remain a citizen of the world by rejecting the relationship offer of the Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew, Chapter 8, Verse 12 explains your eternal destiny…

 

MATTHEW 8:12

“…the sons of Satan’skingdom (unbelievers…the citizens of the world) will be cast out into the outer darkness…in that place (the Lake of Fire) there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 

That is not God’s will for you.  If you end up in the Lake of Fire for all eternity it will be your choice, and God will honor it.

 

Do yourself a favor…BELIEVE in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Take His word for what it takes to be saved.  It’s the easiest, smartest decision you will ever make.  Place your faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ on your behalf and He will be more than happy to welcome you as a citizen of His kingdom, heaven.  Jesus is much better than a passport.  You can reside in His kingdom forever and ever with one simple choice.

 

THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

The Good News of Jesus Christ’s Salvation Offer to the Human Race

 

CLOSING SONG INTRODUCTION

 

Let’s close with music!  We have a God who keeps His promises.  As a result, we are free to feel secure in our relationship with the Lord.  Christ Tomlin reminds us God is FAITHFUL.

 

 

 

MUSIC

CLOSING SONG

Let’s Sing the Lord’s Praises

 

FAITHFUL

Chris Tomlin

 

CLOSING PRAYER

Let us pray...

 

Almighty God and Father…

 

Great is your faithfulness…to all your creatures…but especially to Israel and the Jews…thank you…help us support them as You do…

 

…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ’s name...Amen.

 

THE ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Please make it a habit to listen to the announcements.  They are posted separately.  Keep current on the things going on and coming up in Barah Ministries.

 

DISCUSSING THE LESSON AND PRAYER CIRCLE

 

Join us Live or on ZoomImmediately Following the Lesson

 

GOT BIBLICAL QUESTIONS?

 

Ask the Pastor

pastor@barahministries.com

 

WANT US TO PRAY FOR SOMEONE?

 

Send your request to pastor@barahministries.com

 

 

 

 

KEEP ON STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD DAILY!

 

Thanks for coming!

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for listening!

 

www.barahministries.com